The persistent cliché that ‘disability is inability’ has long plagued perceptions in Namibia, but a collective effort has arisen to challenge and combat the stigma surrounding disability.
At the forefront of this movement is Eva Josaphat, the visionary behind the Miss Ability Namibia beauty pageant, which has since 2018 been dispelling the myth that people with disabilities are incapable.
Her mission is clear: to empower individuals with disabilities, fostering their self-confidence.
Josaphat noted that she was inspired to create a platform for people with impairments after growing up at the Oshakati State Hospital, where her mother, Ida Angunga, was employed.
At the time, people with impairments were housed in a separate ward, and a young Josaphat discovered how to assist them with their chores.
“I then became a member of a paralympic sport club named Oshana Heroes Sport Clubs, where the idea of giving the beautiful ladies with disabilities a platform to showcase their beauty was born,” she recalled.
She said the focus of the pageant, which caters for women aged 18 to 45, is not on beauty alone, but also on other qualities of substance and community involvement.
“I am an advocate of change and I believe that empowering the people can help them find their place in society,” she said.
Josaphat indicated that she aims to give an equal platform to all women with disabilities in Namibia who want to embrace their beauty in full.
She said she hopes the event helps to create an inclusive nation for every Namibian, while simultaneously advocating for the rights of people with disabilities, especially women who have always wanted to be beauty queens but were denied a formal opportunity to realise their dreams due to their disabilities.
When Miss Ability Namibia first began in 2018, Josaphat said there were only five contenders, which led them to crown each of the finalists that year. The only support for the event came from family and friends who attended the function.
“When we hosted the second edition the previous year, we received 40 per cent of our funding from the community, businesses and the finalists’ families,” she said.
One of the previous contestants is 25-year-old Lucy Nambahu, who was voted Miss Personality.
Nambahu uses a wheelchair and said she understands the self-doubt that can plague disabled individuals across her community and the nation.
“Many experience extensive prejudice in the community in which they reside,” she said.
Nambahu indicated that through participating in the beauty pageant, she was accorded an opportunity to firmly express herself and prove to the world that she was capable.
She stated that through the pageant she also got to know many people with various disabilities.
Another former participant, 30-year-old Frieda Mandjangi, said before she participated, she was beset by low-esteem and an inability to freely express herself without fear.
Mandjangi feels she was left behind due to several factors, including her lack of confidence, her dim outlook and a sense of worthlessness.
“Life has never been better than it is today,” she said.
Although she did not win, her experience was memorable as she was given an opportunity to step outside her comfort zone and open herself up to new experiences.
She added that the pageant gave her hope that she can be authentic, write her own story, choose her own route and do what is best for herself.
Meanwhile, Rundu resident Loide Mupuma said through the pageant she gained confidence, self-belief and the realisation that she is not limited by her condition.
“I am confident that I can accomplish everything I set my mind to,” she said.
In addition to modelling, the now 42-year-old indicated that she found passion in Paralympic sports and interior design after her participation in the pageant.
“My love for engaging with people and my outgoing personality led me to take on the role of becoming the voice of the disabled,” she said.
Navigating the delicate task of hosting the pageant, Josaphat still faces sceptics who question the modelling potential of women with disabilities.
“How will women with disabilities model?” is one of the queries she has constantly had to deal with.
The next Miss Ability Namibia is scheduled for November this year. Perhaps the sceptics can take their seats alongside the admirers and witness not just a pageant, but a transformation as the Miss Ability contestants show the world their abilities are boundless and their spirits unbreakable.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency